Printing Photos - thoughts?

Hi all:

I considered purchasing a Canon Pro 100 photo printer, but then weighed in the cost of 10 ink cartridges and the quality paper needed to get the best prints, and it seem quite costly for occasional printing. I don't print every day, but perhaps would have used it to print pictures that I think frameable. In that regard, I'm thinking that printing via online services might be easier.

I don't know if the quality of the prints done at home vs online would be comparable. Has anyone had any good experiences with print services - ie. Blacks, Henrys, etc.....what are some good online /kiosks that I can trust to give great prints?

At work, we have a Epson photo printer that used 8 ink cartridges, that's retired now. We use it for presentations back in the days (thank god it's all digital now). On photo paper, it can produce amazing quality print when set in the highest quality.

I used it for about 3-4 years. So I can tell you my experiences:

pros:
-You can print whenever you want and you'll have your print right away. Also, you can print a lower quality (less DPI) to check the colors and tweak your photos even more to have the perfect final print.
-Cheaper if you print often*
-That's all the pros I have...

cons:
-It takes a lot of space
-*More expensive if you don't print often because the inks and nozzle do dry up over time.
-You'll be the one stuck if there's a problem. I have had many occasions where the initial print has problem, like 1 ink was not functioning properly. So over times, I wasted 10-20 prints every year. That's of a total of 150-200 prints per year. That's extra money down the drain. Professional printers also make mistake, but they don't make you pay extra for that.
-Like the con above, if your nozzle gets dirty, it'll ruin a print. I can take super good care of the printer and clean it at the recommended period, but it can still happen.
-You have to keep a 2nd ink for all your inks. Sometimes, when you're 95% done printing, the printer will ask you to change one of the ink and I don't think you want to go out buy a the replacement or order online as some models don't sells their ink in-store because it's not mainstream enough, all while leaving the printer on so it can finish the print.
-On the printer we had, when I had to change ink in the middle of a print, I can see a slight imperfection of the continuation.
-I was limited to 13x19 inch on our printer.
-It'll make a white border for any size print. It's like this on any printers, but professional can print it on a slightly bigger paper and cut it at the size you want so there will be no border. It's called bleed.

The reason we have it is because of it being instant and we prints a lot. I work in an advertisement agency so every minutes count. I had to live with all the cons.
For my personal use, which isn't many prints, I'll never buy a photo printer.

Online printing is a hit or miss depending on their competency and color management workflow. Forget the Kiosks at blacks/Henry as they are only good for the average viewer. I know Vistek photo printing uses Epson pigment so thats your best bet for high quality prints. I personally own a Imageprograf Pro 1000 and have been home printing for many years.

Just get your photos done at Costco. Doubt you'll notice the difference. And if it matters that much, there's Toronto Image Works.

There is absolutely a day and night difference between the prints at costco vs a fine art photo printer. Its a different league altogether. Looking at the fine art printing cost offered by Toronto Image Works - http://www.torontoimageworks.com/pricing/ I think I am undercharging the price of my printing services.

There is absolutely a day and night difference between the prints at costco vs a fine art photo printer. Its a different league altogether. Looking at the fine art printing cost offered by Toronto Image Works - http://www.torontoimageworks.com/pricing/ I think I am undercharging the price of my printing services.

Yes I agree with you. There is a difference. Up to OP on how much they want to spend.